The Infinite Room
by Lookingglass Theatre Company
Welcome to The Infinite Room. Each episode, Lookingglass artists will ask ourselves and others Big Questions—about art and theatre and the planet we live on; we’ll engage in frank conversation—sometimes serious, sometimes decidedly not—about the stories we tell, why and how we tell them, and how they intersect with our city, our country, and our world.If you're able to help by donating, we would be grateful for your support right now to continue to bring our imaginative art to life. https://lookingglasstheatre.org/support/
Episodes
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The Steadfast Tin Soldier's Secrets
In its rave review of The Steadfast Tin Soldier, the Chicago Tribune says “It’s transformational, truly. Barely more than an hour long and does not use a lick of human speech.” But how did the director, choreographer, actors and musicians put together a story without the use of the spoken word?...
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Her Honor Jane Byrne Revisited: An Introduction to the Radio Play
Her Honor Jane Byrne Revisited: An Introduction to the Radio Play Live performances of Her Honor Jane Byrne were cut short by COVID-19, but the play now comes to vibrant life as a radio play on WBEZ. Hear all about the play’s creation, its impact on a former resident of Cabrini-Green, and how the...
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Pequeños Milagros en La Villita (Spanish)
Pequeños Milagros en La Villita Las artes nos ayudan a conectarnos unos con otros, y durante el COVID-19, el parentesco y el bálsamo que el arte ofrece son aún más cruciales. Pero, ¿cómo se lleva el arte a la gente durante una pandemia? La BROCHA lo ha descubierto, brindando oportunidades para la...
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Little Miracles in Little Village (English)
The arts help us connect with one another, and during COVID-19 the kinship and balm the arts provide is even more crucial. But how do you bring art to people during a pandemic? LaBROCHA has figured it out, providing opportunities for artistic creation and engagement for people ages 60 years and...
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One City, Different Lives: Memory, Aging, and the Restorative Power of Art in Chicago’s Black Community
The isolation and loneliness we all feel due to COVID-19 is real, but it's even more dire for our seniors, especially those in under-invested communities. How can the arts reach into those communities to activate, energize, and connect people -- to one another and to their creative selves that…
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Back From The Depths: Bringing a Lost Tragedy To Music, Light and Life
When 844 people died in the Chicago River in the Eastland disaster, the event devastated Chicago and shook the nation. Lookingglass’ 2012 production of Eastland resurrected the ghosts and events of that day in a stunning folk musical. Artistic Director Heidi Stillman sat down with playwright Andy...
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Remembering 1919/Confronting 2020: Race Riots, Public Art, & Chicago Then and Now
In cities across the country, Americans are fiercely arguing about which statues should stay up or come down. Meanwhile, the bloody Chicago Race Riots of 1919 have gone unmarked with any public monument for more than a century (though that is about to change). What events from our past do we…
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The Connecting Point: Art on Sedgwick, Building Bridges, Creating Community
Chicago is no stranger to the anger currently roiling the nation’s streets, or the systemic inequities that underlie that anger. With so much tortured history, and a present that feels no simpler, how do we create a more hopeful future? Art on Sedgwick sits smack in the middle of a community…
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Theatre As A Change Agent, Pt. III: Curiosity, Resilience, and The Creative Spark in Each of Us
Lookingglass’ Department of Curiosity brings theater as a tool for change to inquisitive minds and burning hearts of all ages in classrooms and communities all over Chicago. Central to that work (and play!) is our premise that everyone is innately creative – we don’t all get to express that...
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Puppetry in Motion
A baby strides determinedly across stage, the actors moving it in plain sight. The tentacles of a giant squid grab a sailor, its huge eye gazing through the submarine’s porthole. A terrified pig tells a graphic tale of terror, simultaneously ridiculous and bloody – all in silhouette. Why do these...
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Theatre as A Change Agent Pt. II: Breaking Down the Walls
In Episode 5, Lookingglass Ensemble Member David Schwimmer and Director/Playwright Alexander Zeldin talked about how experiences in the theatre can impact us, as individuals and as a community. Powerful theatre experiences take place well beyond the four walls of a traditional theatre: they…
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Theatre as A Change Agent: a Conversation with David Schwimmer and Alexander Zeldin
Plays that grapple with the issues of our times – race, class, gender, civil and human rights, etc. – have been a rich strand of Lookingglass’ history. Productions of The Jungle, Race: How Blacks and Whites Think and Feel About The American Obsession, Trust, Plantation!, Beyond Caring and Her…
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The Theatre of Spectacle: Lookingglass Designers Take The Stage
Design is a part of the theatre experience anywhere, but at Lookingglass designers create a fully immersive, sensory event. Lookingglass is one of the few companies to have designers among its Ensemble, transforming the theater every time you walk in and helping choose each season. A conversation...
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Gimme Shelter: Lookingglass Theatre and The Chicago Help Initiative
Mr. Rogers told us when things are hard to “look for the helpers.” The Chicago Help Initiative has been bringing people experiencing hunger and homelessness to every show at Lookingglass for three years running. Hear Founder Jacqueline Hayes, Arts & Culture Coordinator Susan Gold, and member of…
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Epic Adventures on Small Stages: David Catlin, Mary Zimmerman, and Why The World's Great Stories Are More Relevant Than Ever
Great stories from around the globe and across millennia have found their way to the Lookingglass stage, comprising almost half of the company's world-premieres. Hear Ensemble Members David Catlin and Mary Zimmerman talk about what stories draw them in, how they imagine and create them onstage…
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Her Honor Jane Byrne and the Past, Present and Future of Public Housing
A playwright, an activist, and a non-profit leader walk into The Infinite Room and talk about the intersection of art and politics, and the way radical imagination can lead to real change. Guests: · J. Nicole Brooks: Lookingglass Ensemble Member, playwright and director of Her Honor Jane Byrne. ·...
About this show
Welcome to The Infinite Room. Each episode, Lookingglass artists will ask ourselves and others Big Questions—about art and theatre and the planet we live on; we’ll engage in frank conversation—sometimes serious, sometimes decidedly not—about the stories we tell, why and how we tell them, and how they intersect with our city, our country, and our world.If you're able to help by donating, we would be grateful for your support right now to continue to bring our imaginative art to life. https://lookingglasstheatre.org/support/
Hosted by
Lookingglass Theatre Company
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